1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a continuous process for making carpet face yarns made from two fiber types, and more particularly, to combining singles yarns of higher denier with singles yarns of textile denier to produce face yarns with special color effects and appearance, including improved processes and new products therefrom.
2. Description of Related Art
As used herein, certain terms have the meanings ascribed to them as follows:
The terms xe2x80x9cthreadxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cfilamentxe2x80x9d are intended to connote single filament fibers, whereas xe2x80x9csingles yarnxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cstrandxe2x80x9d is an assembly of two or more fibers.
The term xe2x80x9cnodexe2x80x9d is intended to mean relatively compact, tangled sections of a yarn that are separated by relatively bulky or unentangled sections.
The term xe2x80x9centanglingxe2x80x9d is intended to mean the mixing of components to an extent that the individual components cohere to one another, where xe2x80x9ccoherexe2x80x9d means to stick or hold together in a visually identifiable and distinguishable mass, an example of which is the above-mentioned xe2x80x9cnodexe2x80x9d. Entangling includes directing a flow of fluid, such as air, against a moving plurality of filaments transversely of the direction of movement of the filaments. The resulting dislocation of the filaments leads to a knot-like intertwining and entangling of the filaments or strands. The term xe2x80x9cair-jet entanglerxe2x80x9d is a device which produces an entangled yarn by co-mingling the components of the yarn.
A xe2x80x9ctexturing processxe2x80x9d causes a permanent departure from the original longitudinal shape of the filament, for example, by causing the filament to be crimped, or to have some degree of curved or angular change along its length. One example of a texturing process employs a chamber in which yarn is moved at high speed through a flow of heated gas or vapor, i.e., hot air or steam. Alternatively, heated or unheated yarn may be moved at high speed through a mechanical crimping process. The yarn may then be bulked by collision with a surface which, for practical purposes, may be the wad or plug formed by the yarn itself. As a consequence, individual yarns deposit themselves in a bent configuration on an impact surface, and because of heat-induced effects, the yarns retain, to some extent, this curved or angular configuration. When the texturing is accomplished using a heated yarn, the crimped fiber configuration is made permanent by a cooling process, without permitting portions of the yarn to adhere, or be connected, to each other.
A continuing need exists for fiber and yarn producers to offer carpet, floor, and wall covering designers yarns that will provide a unique appearance or will provide unique performance characteristics once tufted, woven, or knitted into pile fabrics or carpet.
Significant resources have been devoted to the manufacture of yarns which have unique attributes. Such yarns have included combinations of fiber building blocks, i.e., singles yarns, of different polymers, fiber cross-sections, fiber denier, or color. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,197 describes yarns made from a blend of fibers, of the same polymer type, in which one component is a fiber of one particular denier and color, and the other component is of another particular denier and color, where the lower denier component makes up the majority of the final yarn.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,177 describes multicolored yarns made from one fiber type of round cross-section and one color, and another fiber type of non-round cross-section and another color. The round cross-section fiber is the majority component, with the non-round component serving as an xe2x80x9caccentxe2x80x9d yarn. It is significant to note that the patent emphasizes that the desired effects can only be achieved by this particular yarn combination.
Other prior patents disclose various approaches to producing yarn blends or mixtures that will, when tufted into carpet products, provide specifically desired attributes. Examples may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,994,122; 4,226,079; 4,472,481; 4,712,366; 4,882,222; 4,993,130; and 5,413,857.
While the prior art, typified by the above-noted patents, may provide a range of products of use to the carpet stylist or wall covering designer, such products do not address the problems currently being faced by the industry and for which adequate solutions have not been found. In particular, there is a continuing trend within the industry toward producing carpets and other pile fabrics with lower face weights. The move toward lower face weights has generally led to carpets that have high tuft density and smaller yarn bundle sizes. Concurrently, this trend is seen as leading to reduced color complexity, at a time when the exact opposite is being requested by stylists, as it becomes more and more difficult to have high numbers of larger denier singles yarns in the final face yarn. In this respect, it is noted that a recognized pleasing and effective aesthetic is the interplay contrast between chromatic color(s) and the neutrality of surrounding or adjacent color(s). The smaller the yarn bundle, the sharper and more dramatic the contrast.
The present invention involves the production of a range of textile effect yarns made from a process that combines either dyed or melt pigmented textile denier accent yarns having a lower denier per filament (dpf), into a small building block bundle of yarns of a higher denier per filament, referred to herein as a carpet denier. Use of differently colored singles yarns of each type will preserve, or even improve upon, the current level of coloration complexity which can be provided to the carpet or textile producer and stylist. Meanwhile, the use of a blend of textile denier yarns combined into a building block of yarns of a carpet denier permits the production of the desired lower face weight carpets and textile products, while further providing the necessary physical and mechanical properties for a carpet or textile yarn. As an illustration of this, it will be realized that the number of combinations possible using, for example, only 12 base carpet yarn colors and 12 accent textile yarn colors, is in excess of 100,000 combinations. Thus, the desired small yarn sizes can be provided to the customer in a very wide range of colors and effects, which would not be possible using current carpet denier yarn types alone.
It is to be noted that, for the sake of simplicity and conciseness, the specification will, from this point forward, principally refer to the yarns having the higher denier per filament as xe2x80x9ccarpet denierxe2x80x9d yarns, even though the end use of the finished yarn bundle may not be in a carpet product. Yarns of the present invention can be used in tufted or woven textile products, and even in knitted products. The products can be floor coverings, or other horizontal or vertical surface coverings, even though the discussion herein is principally directed to carpet products.
It has unexpectedly been found that, by combining carpet denier singles yarns with textile denier singles yarns in a particular manner, not only is the above-described color complexity achieved, but the physical performance of a tufted carpet made from such yarns is substantially identical to that of similar carpeting made using only carpet denier face yarns. A further aspect of the use of such yarns in producing carpet products is that the tufted carpet exhibits full retention of appearance, as measured by methods known to those skilled in the art, for example, by ASTM Standard D5252 promulgated by The American Society for Testing and Materials, despite the fact that a substantial proportion (but not a majority) of the face yarn used to construct the tufted carpet is composed of low denier, untextured yarns.
The carpet or textile face yarns of the present invention are manufactured in the following manner. The base, carpet denier, singles yarns are spun, and then, as a second process, are drawn, textured and air-tacked. Preferably, two or more carpet denier singles yarns, which may be the same or a different color, are then air-tacked together to form a base bundle. Textile accent singles yarns may preferably be high-speed spun (e.g., at speeds greater than 2500 m/min) as partially oriented yarns (POY). Alternatively, the yarn may be a highly oriented yarn (HOY), or a yarn having a degree of orientation as a result of being direct drawn onto a winder. The yarn should preferably have some degree of orientation in order that it will have the necessary or desired physical properties. The term xe2x80x9coriented textile denier singles yarnxe2x80x9d will be used herein to describe yarns having some degree of orientation, whether partially oriented, highly oriented, or any other degree of orientation. One or more of the textile denier accent singles yarns, which may be the same or a different color, and which may each be the same or different color as any of the carpet denier singles yarns, are introduced into the moving base bundle after the base bundle has been drawn and crimp textured and the entire mass is then air-tacked or entangled into a finished yarn bundle before wind-up.
Any of the carpet denier or textile denier singles yarns prior to being combined in making up a carpet face yarn, may be air-tacked by an air entangling device that applies only minimal entangling, so that the singles yarns are sufficiently coherent throughout the manufacturing process.
Both the carpet denier and textile denier singles yarns making up the final carpet face yarn may be based on any fiber forming polymer type, and the singles yarns need not all be of the same polymer type. The filaments making up the yarns may be melt-spun from reclaimed polymeric materials. The singles yarns may contain other additives in addition to colorants. The final carpet face yarn may contain one or more fiber types, as well as one or more anti-static filaments, sufficient in number to provide the desired electrostatic dissipation. In addition, the two types of singles yarn, i.e., the carpet denier and textile denier types, may have either the same or different fiber cross-sections.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a process for producing textile effect yarns that are suitable for use in producing a low face weight carpet or textile products, and that provide unique appearance characteristics.
A further principal object of the present invention is to provide a process for making textile effect yarn suitable for use in producing carpet having a low face weight and featuring high tuft density and small yarn sizes, while providing an extensive range of coloring effects.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a yarn for making a tufted carpet that exhibits full retention of appearance, in comparison to carpet made wholly of carpet denier singles yarns, despite use of a high proportion of a face yarn component that is composed of partially oriented, low denier, untextured filaments.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for making a textile effect yarn which can be used to provide a broad range of visual aesthetic effects, using only a limited palette of colors.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a process for making textile effect yarns that offer unique styling possibilities not available by other processing means.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for making textile effect yarns wherein the process involves the use of melt pigmented singles yarns.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for making textile effect yarns which include both carpet denier singles yarns and textile denier singles yarns, such that a carpet made from the yarns has a physical performance that is substantially identical to the performance of a carpet made using carpet denier yarns alone.
Other objects and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the following written description and accompanying figures.